Sharing Heat
by eluveitie
Summary: Hijikata picks up Kondo, and they become a little bit closer.


It's surprising how well Hijikata Toshirou got along with Kondo Isao when they first met. Partially because of how quickly it happened; their personalities unexpectedly and instantly clicked together in a ying-and-yang kind of way. But mostly, it was surprising because of how often Kondo seemed to severely piss Hijikata off.

For example, tonight. Kondo went out drinking at eight-thirty and wasn't back by twelve. Hijikata took it upon himself to drag his ass home. The Shieikan was already struggling; if people saw the next master making a loud, drunk, naked (because of course he would be) public disturbance, people would be even less willing to join the dojo.

Hijikata pulled the Idiot, who was thankfully clothed, out of a bar at what he estimated was twelve-forty-five. Usually, the dirt path separating the Shieikan from town was a thirty minute walk, roughly. While supporting with your shoulder a drunken man who was dedicated to the cause of slurring and laughing your ears into suicide, the journey was lengthened considerably. Adding to that, Kondo was also much taller and heavier than Hijikata, making the walk especially arduous.

Halfway down the path, the two abruptly stopped. Hijikata was exhausted. His legs shook from Kondo's weight and the rest of his body shook from the cold. He looked to his friend out of the corner of his eye with a scowl that could crack diamond. Kondo simply looked at him, blissfully happy. Hijikata wanted to kill him.

Voice soaked in frustration, he said "Damn heavy bastard. We have to take a break."

"OK!" Kondo instantly pushed himself off Hijikata and landed on the yellowing grass running down the length of either side of the dirt. Hijikata took in Kondo's position for a moment - face up, legs together, arms spread wide, stupid smile - before sitting on the grass directly to the right of Kondo's legs. It had lost much of its green color due to that autumn's uncharacteristically low temperatures, and was mildly uncomfortable to sit on. Still, the weight off his legs was welcomed.

As a breeze caused a shiver to run down his spine and throughout his body, Hijikata estimated the time. Probably one-thirty. He'd be lucky to make it to the dojo by two. Luckier even to wake up before ten to start the build up of chores he had let sit over the week. His head was tilted toward the sky. A few wisps of cloud obscured some stars, but the sky was mostly clear. A little more than half the moon shone white. Ignoring the frigid cold, the night was pleasant. He spent a while watching the fireflies on the other side of the dirt, as they quickly lit up and gradually faded to nothing.

Hijikata heard clothing shift behind him. He looked back to see Kondo on his side, with one arm supporting his head and the other on the grass beside him. He was wearing the same happy, almost cute expression he had before, Hijikata noticed.

He turned away quickly. Partway interrupted with a yawn, Hijikata warned "Hey, if you fall asleep, I'm leaving you here. I won't carry you back."

"It's good, Toshi. I'm not sleepin','" Kondo said, a little too drowsily for Hijikata's taste. He leaned back and punched him in the chest.

"That was to keep you awake."

"Hey, don't be mean to me." Kondo turned his head to look at Hijikata. The temptation to pull his ponytail was just barely overpowered by his will to live. He then had an epiphany. "Hey...hey, Toshi. Toshi, you know what I just realized?"

"No, Kondo-san. What did you just realize?"

"...ya seem pissed."

There was a sharp intake of breath from Hijikata."How observant of you."

"You tired, man?"

"Nothing gets past you."

Suddenly full of energy, Kondo strongly pat the grass next to him and shouted "Well, come on! Lay down! The grass is soft!"

"No, it's not. You think that 'cause your drunk."

"Nuh-uh! You're missing out. It's so comfy here!" When his protest failed to elicit a reaction, he went with a different approach. "Toshi, please, I'm l-lonely without you. It's so c-c-cold down here. I need you." From his angle, he couldn't see Hijikata restraining a chuckle. He assumed he was being ignored. Running out of ideas, as he could only hold three in his head at a time, he filled his lungs to unleash his final attack. "Toshiii!" he squealed, drawing the 'i' out for as long as his lungs could manage.

Hijikata could manage seven seconds. "God dammit, fine!" He was already angry; he could not deal with anymore of Kondo's nonsense. He threw himself backwards and crossed his arms. The grass was pointy and hard.

"See? Don't you feel a lot better now?"

Hijikata turned to look at Kondo, preparing to unleash an unholy tirade of swears and pent-up anger. But it faltered before it passed his tongue. All he could muster up was "Yes. Yes, I feel a lot better now."

"Knew it." Kondo didn't move his head, but aimed his unfocused eyes at the stars above him. Hijikata tried to do the same, but was rather distracted.

He had never been able to examine Kondo so close up before. Prior to this moment, Hijikata would force himself to not look at Kondo directly whenever his mind would wander. He would blame his delusional thoughts on being tired, or hungry, or crazy. Although he was exhausted, Hijikata knew he couldn't disregard his thoughts any longer. This was the first time he could admit to himself that Kondo was attractive, and neither the stars nor the fireflies could distract him from that. He shivered.

"Toshi, you should've brought a scarf or somthin'"

"I..." Hijikata started, swallowed, and continued. "I refuse to have you question my intelligence."

Kondo looked down as he considered whether or not to say what he was thinking. He decided to go for it. He looked at Hijikata, smiled brightly, and said with a chuckle, "Wanna share body heat?"

Hijikata opened his mouth to speak, but once again, words failed him. He couldn't have misheard. There were no other sounds besides one or two crickets and Kondo was right next to him. He may have been joking, but Hijikata could easily tell when he wasn't being serious. Of course, he might have been too tired to tell if he meant it or not. While running the situation through his head repeatedly, he had forgotten to close his mouth.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Kondo's voice snapped him out of his confusion. "Uh, nothing. I'm good"

"Oh." Kondo looked above himself again before remembering what he had asked. "So, yes or no?"

"Um..." Hijikata thought quickly. He was very tempted by Kondo. He was also unsure of what to say and how to say it. Trying to sound neutral about the situation, he said "If you really want to, Kondo-san, then sure."

"Yay!" Kondo, overjoyed, wasted no time. He untrapped his arm from under his head and placed it under Hijikata's neck. He firmly gripped Hijikata's waist with the other and pulled him close in one quick motion.

In this position, their bodies were lightly touching and Hijikata's forehead made contact with Kondo's chin. Hijikata was using Kondo's right arm as a pillow; his left was wrapped around Hijikata, holding his body close. His arms were stuck between both their chests. He could smell sake. They were both warmed in a short time.

"Uh..."

"Man, you are frozen."

"Yeah."Hijikata's heartbeat quickened and his cheeks heat up. Obviously, he didn't expect this to happen tonight. He didn't expect this to happen ever. In his flustered state, Hijikata blurted out "Hey, please don't vomit on me, Kondo-san." He then internally chastised himself for saying something so contrary to the mood.

"Nah, its okay. I did that, like, twice before already. You'll be fine, don't worry"

"Oh. Okay." Hijikata decided to keep his mouth firmly shut. Taking this as an opportunity, he chose to dislodge one of his arms to stroke Kondo's arm while Kondo ran his fingers through Hijikata's ponytail. Hijikata's heart calmed. His eyes felt weighted, but he wanted this moment to last as long as possible. He didn't know when or if something like this would happen again.

They stayed like this for a long time before Kondo broke the silence."Hey, Toshi?"

"Yes?"

"Look at the stars."

He did. "Yeah?"

"They look so pretty tonight. Right, Toshi?"

Hijikata paused for so long Kondo thought he went to sleep."Yeah. They do."

That night sky, at least at that moment, was the most stunning one they had seen in their entire lives. Under it, they drifted off together.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Thank you for reading. I wanted to write this story because I really want to start practicing my writing and there are no other HijikataKondo stories before this one on this site. If you can see any problems or inconsistencies in my writing, please let me know.


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